A collection of thoughts, essays, opinion and nonsense from a former morning show host with way too much time on his hands.

Monday, December 29, 2008

43

It's my birthday today, and from all indications, it will be a day like any other. My work hours are a little different (12p-8p), so there won't be any going out and celebrating- not that there would be if I worked 4a-noon. I'll hang out with the dog, grab some lunch, read about the Packers' game, and head into work. I'll get home at 8:30, watch a little TV with Pumpkin, and turn in. Day over. That's fine.

All things considered, I'd rather be 43 than 23. I remember what 23 was like. No money, uncertain future, crappy apartment (unless I was living with my parents, which was possible). 23 wasn't a lot of fun. I hadn't learned anything yet. Sure, I'd gone away to college, but anyone who equates college to a "real life" experience is a first-class moron.

As you get older, you're supposed to acquire a certain amount of wisdom, wisdom gained from one crushing defeat or heartbreak after another. I'd rather have wisdom than youth right now. The only thing that doesn't improve with age is potential. You have a ton of potential in your teens and 20's, but by the time you get into your 40's, you're supposed to have tapped into it. Get laid off when you're 45? Time to start over. You don't hear things like, "..now he has the potential to do.....". Nope. That's the only thing that scares me but, frankly, it scares me a little bit less than it did when I was jobless 12 months ago.

Should I become jobless again in 2009 (and earlier I predicted that would happen), there aren't a lot of 'potential' options for a 43 year old guy. Still, I'd rather be closer to retirement. Maybe I'm closer than I'd like to be. Here's to me.